A Hack on the Wild Slide

Tom Becker

Yes, I was there. The Wednesday Night Hack-Off. They filled the room, munching brownies and quaffing caffeine-laced beverages. No, I can't give you any names. They're OOF hackers. Object Oriented Frameworks. Plenty of class, but no hierarchy. They were there, trying out the latest tools. Cranking code until sunrise. Hacking digital data structures into analog engines of computation: the original GUI calculator. Slide rule with a Daystar accelerator.

The spec. It was hand drawn. Just one sheet hot off the copier. It was crude. It was vague. It was factually incorrect. Yes, I wrote it. You got a problem? We didn't want anything to impede the hacker's raw creativity. Besides, this exercise was supposed to be realistic.

I walked in about 8 or so, after the Alger Memorial Pizza Feed. The hacker's den was already hopping. I already knew what I wanted to try: Get started with AppMaker to draw the GUI and generate TCL code. Finish with the fast turnaround times of THINK C.

Started working in a whirlwind of effort. Wait a minute. Things were missing. We're not in AppMaker any more, Toto. Was this alpha code or what? Ran out into the hallway and grabbed Spec Bowers. (At the Frameworks Conference, support is never far away.) He wanted to know how I liked the prototype. It was great, but there was a slide rule waiting for me.

Quickly dropping down a level of abstraction, I copied the starter project from the TCL demos. Renamed the files. Now I had a working app with a window. Time to draw some things. The copy of THINK Reference installed on the machine didn't include the toolbox reference or TCL. Fortunately, most of the toolbox functions I needed were in QuickDraw.h, and there was a printed TCL reference. Created a pane class for each part of the slide rule. Became very familiar with the TCL reference. Created a mouse task subclass to drag the slide. Found a disabled superview that was keeping clicks from getting to the slider. Enabled it. Dragging the slide worked. Undo worked. Added a mouse task to drag the indicator. Tried to remember how to draw logarithmic scales. At this point, I was half done; ready to work on cosmetic issues. Got smooth dragging of the indicator using XOR. Biggest problem was how to control TCL view focus/clipping. Couldn't drag the slide from within a mouse task without flickering. Got it working sort of OK by 6 AM. It was time. Slapped an icon on and shipped it.

Never used TCL before, but no problemo. Anyone with several years of MacApp experience can get up to speed right away. Another big advantage: the quick turnaround times with THINK C. I could make mistakes a lot faster. Experiment and let the compiler check it. Real interactive programming.

Back home, I dug up my copy of An Easy Introduction to the Slide Rule. Isaac Asimov, 1965. "A slide rule," he says, "doesn't seem as impressive as a giant electronic computer, but it has many advantages. It is small enough to put in your pocket, it need not cost more than a couple of dollars, it can't go out of order, and, best of all, it can solve almost any numerical problem that you meet up with under ordinary circumstances. To add to all that, it is simple to operate." Right on.

Community Search:

MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

EtreCheck 3.1.5 - For troubleshooting yo...

EtreCheck is an app that displays the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to... Read more

WALTR 2 2.0.8 - $39.95

WALTR 2 helps you wirelessly drag-and-drop any music, ringtones, videos, PDF, and ePub files onto your iPhone, iPad, or iPod without iTunes. It is the second major version of Softorino's critically-... Read more

Carbon Copy Cloner 4.1.12 - Easy-to-use...

Carbon Copy Cloner backups are better than ordinary backups. Suppose the unthinkable happens while you're under deadline to finish a project: your Mac is unresponsive and all you hear is an ominous,... Read more

Dropbox 16.3.27 - Cloud backup and synch...

Dropbox is an application that creates a special Finder folder that automatically syncs online and between your computers. It allows you to both backup files and keep them up-to-date between systems... Read more

Microsoft OneNote 15.29 - Free digital n...

OneNote is your very own digital notebook. With OneNote, you can capture that flash of genius, that moment of inspiration, or that list of errands that's too important to forget. Whether you're at... Read more

Spotify 1.0.44.100. - Stream music, crea...

Spotify is a streaming music service that gives you on-demand access to millions of songs. Whether you like driving rock, silky R&B, or grandiose classical music, Spotify's massive catalogue puts... Read more

SpamSieve 2.9.27 - Robust spam filter fo...

SpamSieve is a robust spam filter for major email clients that uses powerful Bayesian spam filtering.
SpamSieve understands what your spam looks like in order to block it all, but also learns what... Read more

VueScan 9.5.62 - Scanner software with a...

VueScan is a scanning program that works with most high-quality flatbed and film scanners to produce scans that have excellent color fidelity and color balance. VueScan is easy to use, and has... Read more

Fantastical 2.3.2 - Create calendar even...

Fantastical 2 is the Mac calendar you'll actually enjoy using. Creating an event with Fantastical is quick, easy, and fun:
Open Fantastical with a single click or keystroke
Type in your event... Read more

PCalc 4.4.4 - Full-featured scientific c...

PCalc is a full-featured, scriptable scientific calculator with support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations, as well as an RPN mode, programmable functions, and an extensive set of unit... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

Galaxy on Fire 3 - Manticore brings the series back for another round of daring space battles. It's familiar territory for folks who are familiar with the franchise. If you've beaten the game and are looking to broaden your horizons, might we... | Read more »

The best apps for your holiday gift exch...

What's that, you say? You still haven't started your holiday shopping? Don't beat yourself up over it -- a lot of people have been putting it off, too. It's become easier and easier to procrastinate gift shopping thanks to a number of apps that... | Read more »

MyTona, based in the chilly Siberian city of Yakutsk, has brought a little festive fun to its hidden object game Seekers Notes: Hidden Mystery. The Christmas update introduces some new inhabitants to players, and with them a chance to win plenty of... | Read more »

PINE GROVE 1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
A pine grove where there are no footsteps of people due to continuous missing cases. The case is still unsolved and nothing has... | Read more »

Niantic teases new Pokémon announcement...

After rumors started swirling yesterday, it turns out there is an official Pokémon GO update on its way. We’ll find out what’s in store for us and our growing Pokémon collections tomorrow during the Starbucks event, but Niantic will be revealing... | Read more »

3 reasons why Nicki Minaj: The Empire is...

Nicki Minaj is as business-savvy as she is musically talented and she’s proved that by launching her own game. Designed by Glu, purveyors of other fine celebrity games like cult favorite Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Nicki Minaj: The Empire launched... | Read more »

Clash of Clans is getting its own animat...

Riding on its unending wave of fame and success, Clash of Clans is getting an animated web series based on its Clash-A-Rama animated shorts.As opposed to the current shorts' 60 second run time, the new and improved Clash-A-Rama will be comprised of... | Read more »

Leaks hint at Pokémon GO and Starbucks C...

Leaked images from a hub for Starbucks employees suggests that a big Pokémon GO event with the coffee giant could begin this very week. The images appeared on Reddit and hint at some exciting new things to come for Niantic's smash hit game.
| Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Never Settle for Low Performing Wifi With iOS...

AppYogi Software has announced the release of WiFi Signal Strength Status App 1.0, the company’s new utility developed exclusively for macOS. WiFi Signal Strength Status App features a unique, single... Read more

DietSensor, Inc., a developer of smart food and nutrition applications designed to fight diabetes and obesity and help improve overall fitness, has announced the launch of its DietSensor app for... Read more

Best Buy has dropped their price on the 64GB Apple TV to $159.99 including free shipping. That’s $40 off MSRP.
32GB Apple TVs are on sale right now for $98 on Sams Club’s online store. That’s $51 off... Read more

12-inch Retina MacBooks, Apple refurbished, n...

Apple has restocked a full line of Certified Refurbished 2016 12″ Retina MacBooks, now available for $200-$260 off MSRP. Refurbished 2015 models are available starting at $929. Apple will include a... Read more

Apple has Certified Refurbished 13″ MacBook Airs available starting at $849. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each MacBook, and shipping is free:
- 13″ 1.6GHz/8GB/128GB MacBook Air: $849 $... Read more

Apple refurbished iMacs available for up to $...

Apple has Certified Refurbished 2015 21″ & 27″ iMacs available for up to $350 off MSRP. Apple’s one-year warranty is standard, and shipping is free. The following models are available:
- 21″ 3.... Read more

MacTech is a registered trademark of Xplain Corporation. Xplain, "The journal of Apple technology", Apple Expo, Explain It, MacDev, MacDev-1, THINK Reference, NetProfessional, Apple Expo, MacTech Central, MacTech Domains, MacNews, MacForge, and the MacTutorMan are trademarks or service marks of Xplain Corporation. Sprocket is a registered trademark of eSprocket Corporation. Other trademarks and copyrights appearing in this printing or software remain the property of their respective holders. Not responsible for typographical errors.

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.